


The Sleepover

by Onmyliteraturebullshitagain



Series: And They Were Neighbors (oh my god they were neighbors) [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Also more Boomerang and Dragon, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Bisexual Disaster Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), But also sex is definitely happening post makeout, Established Relationship, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka, Mild Sexual Content, Mostly just an excuse to let them have stupid conversations and be super into each other, New Relationship, Not sure how to tag this because there's nothing explicit happening except some making out, So I erred on the side of Mature, Zukka in their mid-20s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27509188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onmyliteraturebullshitagain/pseuds/Onmyliteraturebullshitagain
Summary: When Zuko asked him if he wanted to stay the night on Friday (with all built in implications of that question), Sokka probably should have treated the whole thing with the gravitas it deserved. Instead, he took it as an excuse for a sexy sleepover, which meant yelling about Mario Kart, flirting via annoyance, playing lazy Truth or Dare, and maybe working out some contradicting Seduction Plans.Part 4 in the "Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka" collection about two loveable idiots being neighbors and getting together, but this can probably be read as a stand-alone if you prefer.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: And They Were Neighbors (oh my god they were neighbors) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968508
Comments: 281
Kudos: 679





	1. Chapter 1

When Zuko asked him if he wanted to stay the night on Friday (with all built in implications of that question), Sokka probably should have treated the whole thing with the gravitas it deserved. 

It has been a few weeks since they'd come back from the wedding, and life had returned to normal, which meant work hours and taking care of poor "abandoned" Boomerang and doing laundry and going through neglected emails and everything else tedious and less fun than hanging out with Hot New Downstairs Boyfriend. And Sokka knew from texts and shared memes that Zuko was back to being a hermit with crazy work hours and no sleep schedules, because that was how he was. But they  _ were _ still making time for each other as a part of this return to routine. Not 'three straight days together' time, but still dates (sorta) and kisses goodbye and hangouts like they used to except with more cuddling. They also still bickered about food and normal waking hours, and Zuko at one point had snapped at Sokka about being annoying and too loud and Sokka might have deserved it. He  _ did _ sometimes miss other people’s cues, and he was still learning how to interpret Zuko’s moody back and forth in communication. Granted, that odd, mini-fight had been after one of Zuko’s ten hour shifts, so Sokka hadn't taken it  _ too _ personally and they’d moved on just fine.

So basically, it was a little uneven so far. They were definitely still finding their footing as far as this whole “relationship” thing went, but the Friday night invite seemed promising at least. Sure, over the last couple weeks they’d fallen asleep together on the couch once and another time they'd crashed in Sokka'a apartment and woke up in a cuddle pile, and they weren’t exactly interacting like chaste monks or something when they did get to be together, but still. This was Zuko essentially very politely asking to sleep with him for the first time, which was a big step and also a big, giant, screaming "yes" if Sokka was being honest.

But also, Sokka was Sokka. So he mentally treated the invitation with a lot of seriousness and preparation but outwardly showed literally none of that because this was the perfect excuse to engage Zuko in a good old fashion--

“Sleepover!” Sokka announced, beaming, at Zuko’s door when he opened it.

Sokka had come fully prepared: already in a t-shirt and grey sweatpants and with his hair down, his pillow under his arm, backpack with clothes and toiletries (nevermind that his house was literally directly upstairs) over his shoulder, grocery bag full of snacks and drinks in one hand, and Boomerang’s leash held in the other.

Zuko, who was wearing a black t-shirt and  _ jeans _ , incredibly, and was all handsome and dignified, looked Sokka up and down and asked, “What the hell is happening?”

“A sleepover, obviously,” Sokka said, spreading his arms, “now can I come in or what?”

“Why do I like you?” Zuko asked, while stepping aside to let him in, and Sokka just laughed.

“I don’t know, but I know you  _ do _ !” Sokka said, wandering toward the kitchen island to drop off the grocery bag first of all. 

The apartment had the same layout as Sokka’s--one bedroom, square living room with the door out to the balcony by the windows, open kitchen with the island separating it from the living room--but Zuko’s house was very neat and somewhat minimalistic while Sokka’s tended toward clutter and color. Zuko’s living room had one dark grey couch and a pair of matching end tables, a TV on a basic entertainment center on the other side of the room next to one bookshelf neatly packed with paperbacks and DVDs and video games, and there was a cat tree near the window. That was it. 

Other than one picture of Zuko and his uncle framed and set on top of the bookshelf next to a vintage theater mask replica, a red blanket over one arm of the couch, and an empty black coffee mug forgotten on one of the side tables, it basically looked like a staged apartment. No feeling or personality or chance to offend, and based on what Sokka knew of Zuko’s early life, he wasn’t entirely sure this was out of choice rather than a violently ingrained habit. As soon as Sokka had put these pieces together mentally, he'd taken to poking his way into the apartment and into Zuko’s life. While some of it was just the desire to be snoopy, most of it was attempting to coax out relaxation and humor and, you know, existing like the whole world wasn’t about to eat you alive. Which it definitely wouldn’t if Sokka had any say at all.

Boomerang was already pulling at his leash to get to Dragon, who’d preemptively jumped on top of an end table so he could glare down at the excited dog. Sokka unclipped his leash and let him go (Boomerang and Dragon got along just fine--they were both just as dramatic as their owners), and Boomerang immediately trotted over to whimper at the slightly puffed up cat. Dragon stared at him with his tail lifted but didn’t run, eyes round, and Boomerang whined. Sokka smiled and turned back to Zuko, who was still watching him and looking a little dumbfounded.

“So…  _ what's _ going on here?” Zuko said, gesturing at him and his supplies.

“You invited me to stay the night, so it's a sleepover obviously,” Sokka said, dumping his backpack and pillow on the floor and pulling open the grocery bag. “All the fun, stupid shit we did as twelve-year-olds except we can do them together with the added benefit of adulthood and legal drinking. Movies, video games, snacks, truth or dare, spin the bottle, staying up too late, all that.” He gave him a dismissive wave as he started pulling out drink pouches. “You know what I'm talking about!"

Zuko rubbed the back of his head. "Uh…" he muttered, and Sokka straightened immediately.

"You've never had a sleepover, have you?" he said, a little sad but not completely surprised.

"I mean, not like what you're describing," Zuko offered, shrugging. “Nothing that exciting or… disorganized.”

"I swear it'll be fun," Sokka said, going for a winning grin and trying not to reveal his 'Zuko's childhood is making me sad' face (so named by Zuko), because he knew how much he hated it. 

Zuko’s flicker of a scowl meant he might not have totally succeeded.

"I make things fun,” Sokka announced to cover it. “You know that about me."

To illustrate, he threw a Capri Sun at him, which Zuko caught, smiling a little.

"Fine," he said, throwing the pouch back. "But also, did you say ‘spin the bottle’? Because you do realize there are only two of us, right?”

Sokka chuckled and moved to wrap his arms around Zuko’s waist. “What, you don’t wanna kiss me?” he teased, dropping a kiss on the tip of his nose. “Also Boomerang and Dragon are here too, so…”

Said pets were nose to nose from the floor and the side table, Boomerang’s tail waving and his whole body twitching with excitement. Dragon reached out and gingerly bopped him on the side of the nose a few times, and Boomerang whined and wagged harder. 

“I’m not kissing your dog,” Zuko deadpanned, which was almost impressive with Sokka's face mere inches away, “but I guess this is happening and I'm in it now, so what else you got, weirdo?”

Sokka let him go and went back to the counter, starting to pull things out of the bag: beef jerky, cheetos, twizzlers, more Capri Sun, a bottle of vodka, the menu tri-fold for the closest pizza place, and a fresh deck of cards Sokka had to buy for the occasion because he couldn’t find one in his apartment. He gestured with a wide smile to the spread, and Zuko sighed like he was about to throw himself off his balcony.

Always such a drama queen when faced with fun.

“You remember you’re twenty-five, right?” Zuko asked, shaking his head.

“That’s why there’s vodka!” Sokka announced. “So wanna order pizza first?”

“Sure,” Zuko said, clearly just letting his happen, but Sokka knew him well enough by now to know he  _ liked _ the opportunity to let loose and do something stupid and fun. He just still didn't entirely understand how to do it for himself. But Sokka was gonna bring that out in him, damn it, even if Zuko still felt the need to grumble and huff the whole way entirely on principle.

But once they’d decided on a large meat-lovers pizza and garlic bread and Zuko had broken into the beef jerky and smuggled it back to the couch with him, he seemed to have given up on more than his general level of faux grumpiness. Sokka plopped down beside him and leaned into his side, and Zuko automatically lifted his arm to wrap it around his shoulders. Sokka shot him a grin, and Zuko bent and gave him a soft kiss on the temple.

"Thanks for coming over," he said, and then his voice lowered to a sort of purr. "Even if you  _ really  _ missed the vibe I was going for."

"Oh did I now?" Sokka teased, well aware of the smell of Zuko’s cologne and his clean-shaven face. "This is  _ all _ part of my larger Seduction Plan, just you wait." 

Zuko grinned, cheeks a bit pink. "Of course it is. But what about  _ my _ seduction plan?"

"You think the two can't go together?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Zuko smirked at him and reached for the remote. “So what are we doing until the pizza gets here?” he asked, clicking on his TV. “Unless this is you seducing me?”

Sokka snorted. “Oh honey, if I was seducing you, you’d definitely know it.”

“Of course I would,” Zuko replied, squeezing the arm around his neck a little more. “So if that’s not what we’re doing--”

“Yet,” Sokka pointed out with a smile while finger-walking toward Zuko's knee, “I’ve got a whole thing going.” 

Zuko just laughed, which was an incredible improvement from the first few times Sokka had aggressively flirted with him and Zuko had gotten all dodgy and blushy and didn’t want to talk about anything (or assumed anything sexual had to be ultra serious, which… boo, why?). Sokka took it as a win that they could flirt and tease and be themselves, because it was supposed to be comfortable and fun and safe when they were together. That was how relationships ought to be.

For Zuko especially, who every so often hinted at a childhood that made Sokka feel a bit like he did when he watched those ASPCA commercials with the super sad dogs. That guy  _ especially _ deserved to feel happy and safe and comfortable, and that was an obligation Sokka was  _ more  _ than happy to take on himself. He squeezed Zuko’s thigh and met his eyes again.

“Well, if that’s not what we’re doing  _ yet _ ,” Zuko said, grinning, “then what  _ are _ we doing?”

Sokka gave him a rueful smile, narrowing his eyes. "How much angry yelling do you wanna do right now?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "So Mario Kart?"

"Maybe..."

"Fine," Zuko said, getting up to switch some cords over to hook up the old N64 and dig out controllers, "but if you blue shell me, I’m kicking you out and you can say goodbye to  _ either _ seduction plan."

"Yeah, like I'd ever let you get to first place," Sokka scoffed, accepting the controller. "Bring it on, Yoshi."

Zuko dropped back to the couch beside him, tossed him a controller, and started the game as Sokka rotated to throw one of his legs across his lap.

"Do you have to sit like your limbs don't attach to your body?" Zuko asked, going through the menu without having to ask.

"I'm a bisexual. How is that even a question?"

"Yeah, I'm a bisexual too, and notice how my arms and legs actually stay in my bubble of the couch?"

"It's because you're our spy for The Straights," Sokka said, watching the TV as the worked through the options. "Infiltrate. Undermine. Overcome."

Zuko laughed at that, eyes not leaving the screen as the first race geared up. "Why can't  _ you  _ be the straight spy?"

"I can't even  _ sit _ straight," Sokka replied, hands twitching on the buttons as their karts surged forward. "And I'm not--eat a dick, Mario!--I'm not a ninja like you. We'll need that when you break into the secret Straights facility."

Zuko grunted in response, eyes narrowed at the screen, and it took him a while to actually respond.

Although the fact that he responded to Sokka's nonsense at all felt like another win.

"Why are we breaking into a straights facility?" Zuko asked after a moment, making Sokka grin.

"Good question," Sokka replied, swerving around the gophers on the Moo Moo Farm track. "To learn the ways of khakis and gender reveal parties?"

Zuko gave a bark of laughter and fired off a green shell at Bowser.

"Or maybe we're teaching them about the value of cuffed jeans and awkward finger guns," Sokka rambled on, "and not being a bigotted asshole?”

Then he used the blaster power-up to shoot himself forward over and over in a way he knew made Zuko annoyed because ‘that’s not how you use that, Sokka!’ but this time Zuko just grunted at him and spent a moment just muttering increasingly creative curses at the NPC racers.

Then Zuko picked the conversation back up as they moved toward the end of the lap. 

"Not sure your ‘straights’ comment is totally warranted," he said diplomatically (just like a good spy), "we've got lots--Sokka, if you try to run me off the road right now!---we've got lots of straight friends who are great people. Your sister, for instance, I’d like to remind you."

“Yeah, she’s like the straightest person in the world,” Sokka agreed, glaring at the screen and definitely still attempting to run Zuko off the road.

“And not at all a bigot,” Zuko added. “I’m actually half-convinced she has, at some point, murdered a bigot and successfully hidden the body.”

“Always a possibility with Katara. She  _ is _ a surgeon.”

“She’s not quite a surgeon yet. She’s in her clerkship. She and I talked about it. You  _ know _ this.”

"You're talking to my sister?" Sokka wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"She added me on Facebook."

"Trust the two of you to still use Facebook like old people."

"She's nice," Zuko said, glaring at the screen, "although she did threaten to kill me if I hurt you.  _ Really  _ not sure what it is with your friends and death threats but--"

"They love me and know I am precious and must be protected," Sokka replied, grinning as he leaned into Zuko’s side.

"And clearly I'm so dangerous," Zuko said with a snort.

"You did almost break Hahn's shoulder," Sokka pointed out.

"I did not," Zuko argued, glaring at the screen. "He's just a little bitch."

Sokka chuckled, not disagreeing. "Still. Have I told you I straight up had a sex dream about that moment because it was so hot?" he offered, grinning.

"Ew," Zuko replied. "That's a fucked up threesome there, buddy."

"Gross, no, Hahn disappeared as soon as you broke his shoulder--and you did break it in the dream, just popped right off his body like a fricken barbie leg," Sokka said, shaking his head and watching Zuko from the corner of his eye, "and then it was just me and my badass ninja boyfriend and some very pornographic, probably physically impossible situations."

Zuko grunted a laugh but didn't reply, although Sokka thought he caught a hint of red creeping up his neck when he glanced at him.

Sokka smirked to himself. "But anyway. So you chat with my surgeon sister now?"

"Did you just segue from 'sex dream' to 'sister,' because if so, I have some criticism," Zuko said, shooting him a look, and Sokka just laughed. "But I mean, we've chatted like twice, and once just about medical stuff."

"Of course you did," Sokka replied. "Why am I surrounded by doctors?"

“Again," Zuko said, nudging him, "I'm an EMT and she's essentially still in training, so we're not technically--"

“Oh let it go Dr. Zuko," Sokka said, unrepentant as he fired off a red shell. "We were talking about The Straights anyway.”

Zuko scoffed. “Which, again, includes your not-yet-a-doctor sister, and her husband, and plenty of our other friends. You’re doing the homophobe versions of reverse racism.”

“We both know reverse racism doesn’t exist,” Sokka muttered.

Zuko just chuckled before then barking, “Damn it, Bowser!”

“I’m gonna say Bowser’s also part of The Straights,” Sokka offered, adjusting his leg across Zuko’s lap so they were a bit closer together.

“He does spend a lot of time trying to steal a princess,” Zuko agreed.

“And yet we still invite him to go karting with us…”

Zuko grunted and leaned forward, resting an elbow on Sokka’s leg.

“And I’m not talking our normal straight friends--people who are cool but just weren’t fortunate enough to come out queer," Sokka said, picking the conversation back up and gaining on Zuko as they headed toward the end of the race. “I’m talking about The Straights. Capital ‘t,’ capital ‘s’."

"So like Linda and Paul in building six.”

“ _ Exactly _ like Grandma Screaming at Chloe and Maga Hat Dickhead.”

Zuko chuckled at that. “We’re gonna have to go through a refresher on the Sokka names sometimes.”

“I’ll send you my carefully orchestrated Excel document anytime, babe.”

“Good to know," Zuko replied, chuckling, "and... eat lightning, assholes!"

"No!" Sokka yelled. "That's it! You don't get to be our bi spy--ha, that's pretty good, just came up with that--but you don't get to be the bi spy anymore!" He veered forward around the next turn. "Now it'll have to be Toph."

Zuko laughed. "Toph couldn't pass for straight if the world literally depended on it."

"That's--well, not wrong honestly," Sokka admitted. "She's totally-- _ no!  _ How did you  _ beat  _ me?"

"Talent," Zuko replied, shooting him a smug look. "Incredible reflexes, and ninja spy powers, obviously."

" _ Ha ha _ ," Sokka replied. "Rematch. Frappe Snowland. Bring it on."

"You asked for it, Toad," Zuko replied, and pulled up the next race.

There was a lot more shouting through the next few races, and Zuko kept doing surprisingly well, the jerk. So when Sokka’s normal level of antagonism and ridiculous conversations and video game abilities weren’t cutting it, he started opting for a new strategy. As they slid through Banshee Boardwalk and Rainbow Road, Sokka chose to keep scooting closer and doing what he could to be annoying and distracting as they played. It was, of course, challenging to try to actually race while also trying to elbow Zuko in the ribs or bite his ear, but Sokka managed, sort of.

"Can you get off me?" Zuko laughed, trying to shove him from where Sokka was halfway in his lap. "This is  _ not _ a fair strategy, you bastard! Just race and stop trying to climb up my shirt."

"But why?" Sokka whined, definitely in last place because now he was far more focused on poking Zuko and sneaking his hands under the hem of his shirt and occasionally licking at his neck, all of which had become much more fun than pixelated racing.

"You are--" Zuko began, looking owly and annoyed, and he finished the race and tossed the controller aside on the couch. He shot Sokka a glare, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and snapped,"Just--ugh--you--"

Then he hauled Sokka fully into his lap and pulled his head down to kiss him. Sokka grinned into the kiss, pleased to know Zuko hadn’t lost the connection between 'being annoyed with Sokka' and 'wanting to kiss Sokka', which was really the sweet spot, right there. Zuko's hands were on the back of his neck and around his waist and his tongue occasionally in his mouth, and damn, every time still just made Sokka's skin sizzle. Maybe he could move forward the Seduction Plan, because being in the lap of this warm, attractive man was definitely a solid way to spend the rest of the evening and into the night. Zuko nipped at his low lip and chuckled.

"So you're really leaning into this whole 'acting like a child' thing, huh?" he asked.

"You think I did stuff like this as a  _ child _ ?" Sokka replied, still very much in his lap and with his hands now actually partially in Zuko’s shirt.

"Ok, maybe not  _ this _ part," Zuko admitted, just as there was a knock on the door.

Boomerang barked from where he'd been happily following Dragon around the apartment and ran at the door, tail waving again.

“Boomerang, leave it!” Sokka yelled, and then jumped up from Zuko’s lap. “Pizza!”

"Glad to see where I land on the Sokka list of priorities," Zuko said, standing up too and smoothing down his shirt.

Sokka thanked and paid the guy at the door and said over his shoulder, “Feed me and I’m all yours again. You know how it is.”

Zuko just huffed at him, and Sokka shut the door and returned to the couch with the food, pretty pleased with himself to see Zuko still looking a bit flustered. He shot him a smile.

All part of the Plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More talking, more heart-eyes, more sharing of opinions and revealing dating history.

Sokka now had a rapt audience in Boomerang, who’d given up on the cat in favor of sitting directly beside Sokka and staring like he could lure the pizza away with unblinking eye contact.

“Shoo,” Sokka said, already knowing Boomerang would still end up with crusts and would, in no way, be deprived, and opened up the garlic bread box in his lap first.

Zuko stole the first piece and sat back with it, eyeing the dog who was now hitting  _ him  _ with the full-power, big brown puppy eyes. Zuko shot the dog a look, sighed, and tossed him a little chunk of the edge.

"Enabler!" Sokka accused through his own mouthful of food

“Yeah well, you brought him knowing full well I'm a sucker,” Zuko agreed and tossed another piece while Dragon took that moment to climb up to the back of the couch, meowing as he passed. “What movie we watching tonight?”

Sokka passed the food off for a moment and went to grab two Capri Suns and the vodka. 

“You wanna do a movie? Because we  _ could  _ just move on to one of my sleepover games and skip the movie this time,” Sokka suggested from the kitchen.

"I'm not kissing you with a mouth full of pizza," Zuko said immediately, leaning back into the arm of the couch.

"Wow, what happened to romance?"

"Dead obviously," Zuko said, reaching up and to rub Dragon's head, "that was the final nail in the coffin."

Boomerang took that moment to whine and scoot a little closer to the pizza box as Sokka sat back down.

"I was actually thinking Truth or Dare," Sokka suggested, ignoring Zuko's nihilism and snagging another piece of garlic bread for himself.

"While we eat?"

"Where is your sense of adventure?"

"In prison with my dad."

"Fucking  _ lies _ and you know it."

"Fine." Zuko said it like an exhale and finished his garlic bread. "I'm just gonna let this happen."

"Of course you are! Truth or Dare?" Sokka tossed a bit of his own crust to Boomerang, who snatched it out of the air.

"Truth," Zuko said, "because I don’t trust what sort of Dares someone like you would come up with, and also, I have a feeling I need to start drinking."

"Look, I'm prepared!" Sokka said. "Vodka and Capri Sun."

"That sounds disgusting," Zuko replied, wrinkling his nose. “Why are you like this? Why do I  _ let _ you be like this?”

“You think you could stop me?”

“I think I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be,” Zuko said, expression suggestive.

Sokka quickly swallowed the bite in his mouth because damn… that was a good look.

“I'm pretty sure I've got beer in the fridge,” Zuko said, getting up, “which I’m gonna drink like the actual twenty-six year old I am. You want one?"

"I'm gonna stick with my themed beverage, thank you very much," Sokka said, stabbing his own pouch and taking a drink. "Ok, so truth questions…" He tapped the straw against his lower lip, considering how to play this. "Alright, fine." He smirked to himself and called toward the kitchen, "When did you first know you liked me?"

"Like, in a romantic way?" Zuko asked from the island, snapping off the lid of his beer. "Or as a friend?"

"Right, should have remembered," Sokka said, leaning into the cushions and fiddling with how to get vodka into the Capris Sun. "You always need clarification."

He finally opted for just pouring some vodka in his mouth and then sucking some Capri Sun through the straw before anything could spill out. Zuko scooted the still eagerly waiting dog with a foot as he returned to the couch, and Boomerang whined at him too, because obviously, no one ever fed or pet him and his life was nothing but torment

"So… you haven't answered," Sokka pointed out, taking another sip of Capri Sun. “Overwhelmed with how long you’ve liked me?" He took a swig of vodka and swallowed. "Just blown away by my animal magnetism?”

Zuko set a whiskey glass on top of the pizza box on Sokka's lap.

"Please stop using your mouth as a cup," Zuko said simply, and Sokka laughed.

"But it's so convenient."

Zuko took his seat again. "Can I answer this question by saying I  _ don't  _ like you and that it's all a long con because I'm a double agent for the Straights?"

Sokka laughed and scooted closer to him again. "It's a good story, but I don't buy it."

"Fine, the first time I liked you?" Zuko leaned into Sokka's side and took a drink. "Which, again, I'm not saying I do because you are an embarrassment--"

"Aww, you flatterer."

Zuko shot him a smile. "It was the Fourth of July on your balcony."

Sokka couldn't hold back his own grin. "Really?"

"Yeah," Zuko said, a fond look coming to his face as he glanced over at him, "because it was so… effortless. You invited me up there with you so we could both watch the fireworks like it was just normal, like we were already friends and you were excited to spend time with me."

"Well, I was," Sokka muttered, reaching up to stroke back Zuko's hair.

"It was so easy for you to just be nice and let someone into your life, which is, you know, not how I am," Zuko said and leaned back again, shoving his knee into Sokka's thigh. "You asked me about my job and just ooh and ahhed and talked through the whole firework show and I just… I liked it, I guess." He fiddled with the beer bottle in his hands, looking down at it. "That you were just happy and unapologetically yourself, and you wanted me to be a part of it." He shook his head, quirking his lips as he looked back up. "And you were in that blue tank top of yours, and that helped too."

Sokka grinned and nudged him. "So was that friend-liking or romantic-liking?"

"Eh, yes?"

"Really?"

"More friend," Zuko admitted, "but there was some attraction there too. You were hot--are hot.” He took a drink of his beer. "Ok your turn."

"You have to say 'Truth or Dare'."

"No, I want an answer to that same question."

"That's not how it works!"

Zuko spread his arms. "Who's keeping score? Is a judge gonna pop out and grade us?"

"You don't know” Sokka muttered.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Just answer the question."

Sokka took another drink, considering how to respond. It had all gotten sort of muddled together, attraction and friendship and romance, but he could still pick out a specific moment. 

"When you were going off about drink choices at Katara's wedding rehearsal," he admitted, and Zuko actually choked a bit on his beer and coughed.

" _ Seriously _ ?"

"Well, that was when I fully  _ realized _ how I felt about you," Sokka argued, nudging him, "because I just looked at you doing something stupid and specifically 'Zuko' and was just like, 'well, shit, I want that one'."

Zuko actually laughed at that, in that still surprising way that made Sokka's heart clench in his chest, and so Sokka also told him about Katara seeing through them and telling Sokka he was being dumb, and about how much Sokka cared when Zuko got all weird about the kids, and that Sokka would have left right then for Zuko, and how it all just crystalized that--

"That's a person I wanna spend my time with no matter what we're doing," Sokka said with a grin, "and that--I don't know, that I want to take care of and who I want to be there for me too," he finished, feeling his face flush as the words came out of his mouth.

Zuko was watching him with something strange in his eyes.

"Sorry," Sokka added quickly, because they hadn't been together that long and that had been a lot to admit, and he'd started this but apparently wasn't prepared to finish it. "That was super cheesy…"

"No," Zuko said, "it wasn't."

Then he leaned forward and kissed him, their bodies strangely angled, but somehow it still worked. They still fit. 

"I thought you weren't gonna kiss me with my pizza mouth," Sokka muttered when Zuko pulled back, and he just smiled.

"I'm making an exception," he said, kissing him again.

Sokka set the food aside and pulled Zuko closer to him, because he was figuring him out more and more with every interaction, every conversation, every joke and every makeout session. Zuko was all prickles and bluster and surly opinions outwardly, but inside, he really did just want to be cared about. He'd never say it, of course, but he wanted someone to acknowledge that he was worth something, to treat him nicely and listen to what he had to say and put up with his moods and maybe occasionally hug him extra tight. So basically the simplest, lowest possible bar of humanity: to be cared about by someone who valued your safety and happiness. And Zuko still always seemed a little surprised by it. Like he was used to being the caretaker--restarting hearts and treating wounds and bringing people to hospitals--and assumed that was all he was good for. To be worthy by being of use to someone else.

Which was bullshit, and Sokka was gonna prove that to him.

Sokka continued giving him leisurely kisses and stroking his hands through Zuko's hair and down his back until he realized Boomerang had definitely stolen a slice of pizza out of the box and had dragged it into the kitchen. When Sokka registered the pleased dog sounds he was hearing for what they were, he finally pulled aside to check and noticed that Dragon had apparently been allowed to share in the spoils. The two pets were next to the island eating loudly and with zero remorse, and both men on the couch finally climbed out to get them to stop. Of course, Boomerang just responded by chewing faster, and Dragon sprang away with a piece of sausage in his mouth and carried it to the top of the cat tree like a prize. Then Boomerang, food swallowed and owner staring down at him, looked incredibly guilty and sad until Sokka sighed and rubbed his ears. At least the rest of the pizza was salvageable, and there was only a little bit of grease smeared on the linoleum that had to be cleaned up.

"So I think it's your turn to ask a new question," Sokka said as they returned to the couch with their rescued dinner and the bag of cheetos.

"Yeah, ok, but I'm giving up on Truth or Dare," Zuko said, all pretense of annoyance gone as he grinned and swigged his beer before using it to gesture across at Sokka, "so what I wanna know is how you manage to eat like a child with no supervision and still look like you."

Sokka let out a laugh. "What, sexy as hell?"

"Cocky bastard," Zuko replied with a ticked up eyebrow, "but seriously, no one exists on processed gas station garbage and caffeine and looks like  _ that _ ." He jabbed a hand toward Sokka's torso.

Sokka grinned, surprised and a little flattered, honestly. 

"Some of it's good genes I think," he replied, "but I  _ do  _ also exercise, you know. And I don't eat like this  _ all  _ the time. Mostly just around you."

"Of course you do it just to annoy me," Zuko replied, taking another drink of beer.

"Only a little." Sokka then ate a cheeto without breaking eye contact just for emphasis, which made Zuko roll his eyes.

"Ok, so why's your cat named Dragon?" Sokka asked, grabbing for his drink again.

Zuko grinned and glanced up at the cat still at the top of the tree and munching happily on his stolen sausage as he looked down on the rest of them like the peasants they were.

"Well look at him," Zuko said with a flick of his hand, and Sokka couldn't disagree with that entirely.

"Ok," Zuko said, settling back and clearly getting into it now, "so who was the first person you ever dated?"

Sokka considered a moment, leaning back into the arm of the couch. "Well, Suki--you met her at the wedding--was probably my first real girlfriend, but there was a girl names Yue who I 'dated'," he added the air quotes, "as a kid, and, you know, thought we were all in love and gonna get married and skip into the sunset together, but she moved away right mid-dating and I never saw her again." Sokka gave a dramatic sigh for his poor, melodramatic, pre-teen self. "I was deeply, inconsolably heartbroken as a very intense twelve-year-old--you'd have thought the poor girl off and  _ died _ or something--but still, I was just sure I'd  _ never _ love again."

Zuko stared at him for a moment and then finally said, voice comically serious, "That's rough, buddy."

Sokka let out a short bark of laughter.

"I'm sure twelve-year-old Sokka would appreciate that deeply heartfelt sentiment," he said with a crooked sort of grin.

But Zuko still had a curious sort of expression on his face as he stared at Sokka. 

"So…" he asked finally, "am I the first guy? You've dated, I mean?"

"Pretty sure it was my turn for a question," Sokka teased.

Zuko huffed at him. "Well, fine, you don't  _ have  _ to answer--"

"There's a lot of space between Suki at sixteen and now," Sokka cut in with another bit of a laugh, "so  _ no _ , my dear Zuko, you're not the first guy I've dated." But then Sokka considered a moment, cleared his throat, and added for the sake of transparency, "But, um… in some ways… yeah, you are the first guy I've actually been in a  _ relationship _ with. If that's what you meant."

Zuko's eyebrow rose. "Really?"

"Oh don't look at me like that," Sokka grunted, nudging him. "I've  _ dated _ lots of people--because I like people, and dates, and the stuff  _ after  _ dates," he grinned at Zuko's annoyed expression, "but I haven’t had a lot of relationships, because I only go full ‘relationship’ with people I'm serious about--or when I was twelve, I guess."

He let the words hang in the air between them for a moment, the serious mingled into the playful atmosphere. Sokka watched Zuko's face, waiting on a reaction.

"Well… cool," is what Zuko finally offered, and Sokka burst out laughing.

Zuko threw the empty garlic bread box at him.

"Ok, fair's fair," Sokka said after tossing the box onto a side table and brushing the crumbs off his shirt. "What about you then? Break down that history for me, baby."

Zuko snorted and then settled back again. "Well, I had a girlfriend in high school: a beautiful, angry goth girl named Mai." His face took on a fond twitch of humor. "We shared a deep and abiding connection centered on MCR and hating our parents."

Sokka laughed again, unable to hold it in, but luckily Zuko didn't have anything else to throw at him. And he was laughing too.

"And before you ask," Zuko added, "you aren't the first guy I've dated either. I actually had a boyfriend for like nine months during college but…" He scratched the back of his head. "Having your boyfriend be in and out of court because his dad is going to prison is kind of a  _ lot _ for a nineteen-year-old, so he ended things."

"Well… damn," Sokka said, processing that information and filing it away along with all the other scraps of info he now called the Zuko's History Puzzle. 

That was an opening though, and Zuko was just drinking and shaking his head at the cat and dog trying to play around the cat tree. Did Sokka ask questions? Did he go for unlocking the tragic backstory?

He watched Zuko, relaxed and crooked on the couch, his hair a little in his eyes, and knew he shouldn't. Not tonight. Not in this happy, stupid, seduction bubble they had going. 

Later. There'd be another time.

"If it makes you feel any better," Sokka said with a crooked sort of smile, "a guy I'd been sorta seeing when I was like… twenty-two? Something like that--told me he'd been forced to flee the country and then stopped talking to me. So  _ that _ was fun. And, like, unnecessarily dramatic."

"How do you know he didn't  _ actually _ flee the country?" Zuko asked.

"Well, I saw him like a week after he ghosted me," Sokka replied, "going at it with some guy behind a gay bar, so..." He finished his Capri Sun with a loud slurp. "Very mature of him."

Zuko chuckled at that. "Yeah that does put my college guy into perspective."

Sokka threw his empty Capri Sun back toward the kitchen and the garbage under the sink, expecting Zuko to comment on him being a slob, but when he turned back around, Zuko looked a bit pensive.

"I mean, this is less funny," he said, rolling the beer bottle between his hands, "but since we're being all open and shit, I'll add that there  _ were _ boys I liked who definitely also liked me when I was younger, before Mai, that would maybe count as first dates, but," he winced a little, "I didn't  _ dare _ call them anything but friends, especially around my family. So I didn't count them."

Sokka nodded, giving him a slightly sad smile.

"Don't do the face," Zuko said immediately, stretching his foot out to kick him a little.

" _ What _ face?" Sokka protested, sheltering his cheetos from this new assault.

"The 'Zuko's sad childhood' face," Zuko said pointedly. "It's the  _ same _ face you make when there's a lost puppy poster up in a restaurant!"

"It is not!"

"It absolutely is!" Zuko argued. "I'm not a lost puppy, damn it."

"It's not the same face!" Sokka insisted.

Except that it totally was and he knew it, and Zuko knew it too. So Sokka flicked a cheeto at Zuko and ate one himself.

"You keep doing that face at me," Zuko said with a grin as he tossed the cheeto to Boomerang, "I'm gonna break into your house and mismatch all your flip flops."

"You wouldn't dare!" 

"Try me," Zuko said, taking a drink of his beer, and Sokka shouldn't have been turned on by that smug yet challenging expression and his lips around that bottle, but damn, he was.

"Ok, here’s something less sad-puppy-face that I don’t know about you," Zuko said pleasantly. "Who was your first celebrity crush?"

"Sabrina the teenage witch," Sokka answered without hesitation. "On in reruns at Gran Gran's. I was eight and she was pretty and could do magic. Done deal."

Zuko laughed hard enough he had to set his beer down on the floor.

"God, see,  _ that's _ the sort of weirdly definitive answer I was expecting before!" he said, rubbing his hands over his face. "How do you do that?

"I'm amazing," Sokka said, grinning and shoving his cold toes under Zuko's leg. "What's yours then?"

Zuko, surprisingly, made no complaints about the cold toes, picked his beer back up, and considered. "Probably the pink Power Ranger. Maybe Morticia Adams."

Sokka snorted. "That is some night and day choices," he said, “but also very you somehow. So what about dudes?"

Zuko sat back, smirking a little. "Aragorn from  _ The Lord of the Rings _ . That was a very bizarre queer awakening, let me tell you."

"What?" Sokka said, laughing. "Seriously?"

"It was the opening the door thing!" Zuko said loudly to Sokka’s semi-accusatory tone, attempting to demonstrate while still holding a beer. "And he was all burly and had a sword. Don't at me, you."

Sokka couldn't hold back the laughter. "Should I get a sword then?" he teased. "Maybe some leather pants?"

Zuko cocked an eyebrow, appraising him. "Don't threaten me with a good time.”

Sokka coughed into his Capri Sun, and Zuko gave another smug grin.

“Now come on, what about you? Sabrina and then what guy?"

"It may have overlapped with Sabrina actually--who knows anymore, I’ve been bi for fucking ever--but I'm pretty sure it was Aladdin from the Disney movie," Sokka admitted.

"And you're mocking me for Aragorn!" Zuko snapped with a laugh.

"Come on, who doesn't like a guy from the wrong side of the tracks with a heart of gold who also never wears a shirt?" Sokka replied with a sweeping gesture. "And the  _ drama _ of it all! Again, god-given right to be dramatic. Some part of me has known it since childhood."

"God you're so weird," Zuko said, with that deep sincere fondness that always won Sokka over, and took another drink of his beer. 

“Yes,” Sokka replied, “but it’s all part of the Plan." He grinned and gestured at the room. "So far I've been executing it  _ perfectly _ ."

“Right… because this has all seemed  _ planned _ ,” Zuko said, taking a swig. 

"Are you disparaging my seduction style?" Sokka asked, scandalized, and Zuko just laughed.

"I'm actually not," he admitted, "because this whole," he motioned up and down at Sokka, "thing's kinda working for me for some terrible reason." He raised an eyebrow. “So what now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, a few things:  
> 1\. I definitely fiddled a lot with the ages of events from canon when translating them here. For instance, Sokka 'dated' Yue when they were both 11/12-ish (and also she didn't die, because let's save the boy SOME trauma) and Zuko only dated Mai when they were both 16/17-ish. Also, I spread out Zuko's family background a bit more. He still went to live with his uncle at 13, but his dad didn't end up going to prison until he was like 19/20, so that's a bigger stretch of time of varying family drama (this will get explored in much for depth in a later story if people are interested).
> 
> 2\. Who are the other people the boys dated, you ask? Your guess is as good as mine, so all headcanons accepted :)
> 
> 3\. I may also be showing my age as a Millennial with the celebrity crushes but who WASN'T sexually awakened by Aragorn opening that door to Rohan?? 
> 
> 4\. The boys also just keep wanting to talk and flirt and shit, so this got longer and is now 5 chapters instead of 4. I can't get them to shut up, apparently, but hopefully you're still enjoying the fluff. Things do get a little steamier in the next couple chapters, though.
> 
> 5\. Finally, someone asked what Boomerang looks like, and I realized I never really described him in any sort of detail! In my mind he's a 45-50 pound Australian Shepherd mix, so all brown with white feet and a white blaze on his face who has that sort of herding dog intensity where he's very smart and friendly but also sort of neurotic. So basically just Sokka in dog form :) But you are more than welcome to imagine Boomerang however you prefer because he's a good boy and can be whatever kind of dog makes your heart happy
> 
> Kudos and comments ALWAYS make my day, so always feel free to chat with me in the comments or hop over and snoop me on Tumblr if you wanna see more of my weird academics humor: onmyliteraturebullshitagain


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko: "maybe if I'm sort of sweet and romantic, he'll wanna take me to bed"  
> Sokka: "maybe if I'm just the right level of annoying, he'll wanna take me to bed"
> 
> Spoilers: they're both right

'Now' ended up being more stupid questions, a few rerun episodes of _Parks and Recreation_ while they tossed snacks toward each other's mouths and to the dog, and two games of poker played on the carpet and using whatever was on hand to place bets ("You can't raise by half a piece of beef jerky when I just put in the TV remote!" "You think I know how this works?"). Then it was a short bathroom-break walk for Boomerang around the apartment property where they held hands like an adorable old couples. When they got back, after enough poking, Zuko finally showing Sokka some Aikido moves which became maybe semi-intentionally homoerotic considering how much of it was about holding and pinning another person. This led to two more Capri Suns for Sokka (with and without vodka) and another beer for Zuko and sprawling on the couch together to scroll through Sokka's For You feed on TikTok. It also involved Dragon climbing up and perching on Sokka's shoulders to purr loudly and rub his face against his ear, while Boomerang decided Zuko was his best bet for attention and flopped directly across his lap. It was joking and laughing and daring Zuko into eating a twizzler, which he did like he was being poisoned, and then Zuko forcing water and part of an apple on Sokka because 'oh my god, exercise or not, how do you not have scurvy?' Which led to a long, rambling conversation about pirates, which circled back to the leather pants comment and Sokka admitting that Zuko would make a sexy-ass pirate and he'd happily be kidnapped onto _that_ particular ship, which led to a slightly bizarre conversation about kinks that neither seemed to have entirely expected.

"Just don't physically hurt me, do anything with bodily fluids, or use the word 'daddy' in any way in the bedroom and we should be good," Zuko said, laying on his back on the carpet now, more pliant and relaxed post pizza and beer and laughter. He folded one arm under his head and looking up at the ceiling.

Sokka lay down next to him, briefly appreciating the room from a new angle before Boomerang shoved his nose in Sokka's face and had to be pushed away. Sokka then turned his head to look over at Zuko, appreciating that view far more.

"Deal," he said. "Easy. Same, honestly."

"Good," Zuko replied, “and I only add the whole ‘daddy’ thing because I’m guessing you talk in the bedroom as much as you do in the rest of your life?”

Sokka chuckled. “Yeah, so I've been told--not that I’ve ever used the term ‘daddy’ because that’s just… too weird even for me. But talking in bed? Yeah..." He tipped his head again. "Not a deal breaker?”

“Nope,” Zuko replied, shooting him a smile before looking back up at the ceiling, expression going a bit more distant.

A moment later, he shifted his hand across the carpet to find and link with Sokka's, giving it a quick squeeze. Then he rolled to face Sokka and added with a sudden seriousness, "I really like you. You know that right?"

"I'm getting the idea," Sokka said, smiling, "although you could always say it more."

"I like you," Zuko said, resting his head on his hand. "I know I say a lot of dumb shit because it's how I am, but I'm really glad you're here."

Sokka rolled too and grinned. "What? On your floor?"

Zuko smiled, although there was a bit of red creeping up the sides of his neck. "Sure. But also…" 

His eyes were bright as he shoved Sokka to his back again and lay partially on top of him on the carpet, their legs slotted together. Sokka's breath caught in his chest, and without even considering, he wrapped his arms around Zuko's back and held him there. Zuko, for his part, just looked down into his face, hair hanging forward and eyes warm.

"I'm really glad you're with me," Zuko said, expression serious, and Sokka just stared up at him, fully transfixed. "I don't let a lot of people in, and even less people wanna put up with me consistently, so the fact that you... that you're...erg…" He chewed his bottom lip, eyes narrowing. "Look, I'm still not great at this whole _talking_ thing…"

Sokka grinned, stroking a hand up and down his back. "Yeah, I know."

Zuko's look grew a little more heated, his eyelids lowering, and _that_ was a face Sokka didn't mind having turned his way, even if it made his brain stall out a little.

"But I could try to show you," Zuko murmured, bending his head to mouth just beneath Sokka's ear. 

Sokka made a horribly undignified noise he would later fervently deny making.

"You know. If you want," Zuko added as a kind of pleased whisper just beside his ear that sent shivers down Sokka's spine and made his skin prickle.

"That would--I, um--that'd be fine," Sokka stammered, heart thudding, and he wasn't entirely sure what his hands were now doing.

Zuko nipped at his earlobe, grinning. "Apparently you're not great at the talking either," he whispered, and damn him for the near growl of his voice because Sokka's brain had evaporated like cotton candy dropped in a puddle.

Before Sokka could respond, Zuko's lips had moved to kiss along his jaw and down his throat, breath warm over his skin.

"Well--yeah--not right--I can't _now_ ," Sokka insisted finally.

Zuko shifted to kiss the up the other side of his neck and face, the tip of his tongue move to just barely trace the shell of Sokka's ear.

“God you’re gorgeous, you know that?” Zuko murmured to him, free hand dragging down Sokka’s side and pausing at the sliver of bare skin between shirt and pants. The pad of each finger felt incredibly warm for some reason, and Sokka had never been so aware of the area just above his hips. One hand twisted up in the back of Zuko's shirt.

Zuko’s fingers ghosted down just under the waist of Sokka’s pants, sliding briefly over the rise of his hipbone, and Sokka's hips twitched against him. He could feel Zuko's smile against his skin before his hand slid back to Sokka’s clothed side, his lips now doing something bordering on indecent to the junction of Sokka’s neck and shoulder. 

“You getting how much I like you?" He dropped a kiss on Sokka's cheek. "That I'm serious about you too?" he asked, grinning down at him. "Or should I show you more?”

"Fucking god, Zuko…" Sokka whispered, digging his hands into Zuko's back and shifting his hips to better fit them together, which definitely made talking (along other things) considerably harder. "Yeah, communication. Good-good stuff. Got it. Whatever you--yep--I’m--"

"You getting dumb with words really shouldn't turn me on," Zuko rumbled with a decidedly self-satisfied expression, "but it kinda does."

"Oh fuck you," Sokka muttered, watching him and unable to summon any actually annoyance.

"That's sort of the idea of a Seduction Plan, right?" Zuko said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm assuming you approve of my strategy too?"

Sokka was tingling all over and, yes, had lost all ability to make coherent sentences now that the blood flow that should go to his brain had gone somewhere else. Somewhere Zuko had to be feeling with the way their hips were aligned, and he definitely didn't seem opposed to it. So instead of answering, Sokka surged up to kiss him harder, pulling their bodies together. Zuko's return kiss was hot and open mouthed, and their bodies angled to fit together on the floor. One of Zuko’s elbows was beside Sokka’s head, his other hand around the back of his neck, and Sokka reached up first to dig his hands into Zuko's hair, eliciting a kind of muttered groan. Grinning, Sokka then slid his hands down Zuko's back, slow and deliberate over the arches of his shoulder blades and the notches of his spine to finally rest just above the top of his jeans. 

"I like you too," Sokka managed to say into Zuko's mouth and then slid his hands lower to take hold of his ass, "you beautiful, infuriating _sex demon_."

Zuko's return chuckle was low and pleased and twisted up somewhere in the bottom of Sokka's gut. 

Sokka's shoulder blades were definitely digging into the floor, and he was very aware of the thin layers of fabric separating him from the heat and scent of the man on top of him. As they continued kissing, he let his fingers slide back up to skim under the hem of Zuko's shirt, brushing against the soft skin in the dip of his lower back and pushing the fabric further up.

"Take it off me," Zuko murmured into his mouth.

Sokka obeyed immediately, dragging the t-shirt off over Zuko's head and baring a pale torso. Zuko looked back down at him, grinning, his hair now extra touseled and wild. Sokka threw the shirt toward the couch, unsure where it actually ended up except that Dragon meowed at him with disapproval. Sokka didn’t care and didn't worry about it because then they were pressed back together again and everything was _Zuko._ Zuko's muscular back under his hands and his mouth moving back down the side of Sokka's neck and over his clavicle, his hand sliding up under Sokka’s shirt to follow the curves of his bare side, hip to waist to ribs, before drifting back down to run over his hip and his thigh and then back up to the bottom of his shirt again.

"That could come off too," Sokka managed, and he thought he felt Zuko grin against the hollow of his throat, although then there was a barest brush of teeth against his collarbone and he forgot entirely what he’d been saying.

Zuko sat back a moment later and helped pull Sokka up so together they could struggle him out of his shirt, which was similarly thrown out of the way. Sokka leaned back on his hands, Zuko still in his lap and functionally pinning down one of his thighs. He looked beautiful mussed, his hair fluffy and his mouth red and glossy, all his slender muscles on display. And he was staring hotly at Sokka's torso and running his fingertips over the dips and curves of his pecs and back over his ribs again, lips parted. Sokka shuddered at the touch, skin prickling, and Zuko shot him one of those annoyingly knowing smirks that did something stupid to Sokka's stomach.

"Could the sleepover move to the bedroom?" Zuko asked, voice raspy.

"Spin the bottle?" Sokka asked, slightly breathless but still the cheeky bastard he always was inside.

"Yeah, something like that," Zuko replied, catching Sokka's jaw and dragging a thumb slowly over his bottom lip.

"Seduction Plan?" Sokka replied, smiling and then catching that finger carefully between his teeth.

"Yeah, maybe..." Zuko said, trailing off at the end as he quite openly watched Sokka's lips close back around his thumb.

Sokka was not ashamed to say he ran his tongue around the edge of that finger held between his lips and teeth and watched Zuko's eyes for the precise moment _his_ brain sputtered to a halt.

Good. He deserved it, the menace.

"But whose Seduction Plan?" Sokka replied, letting Zuko's finger go so the other man, now a bit more flustered, could drag it back down his lower lip again and tip up his chin, making Sokka’s pulse jump.

"I think we've reached the part where the plans are the same," Zuko said, composing himself again and pressing one considerably softer kiss to Sokka's mouth before adding, "as long as you're still into it."

"God yes, I'm very into it," Sokka replied. "I would take you on this scratchy carpet right in view of our pets, I hope you realized. That’s how _damn_ much I want you right now, in case the whole… _everything_ ," he leaned to use one hand to gesture to his body and also his pretty obvious interest in Zuko still being halfway in his lap (ah the pros and cons of sweatpants), “didn’t give you enough of an indication.”

"Good to know," Zuko said, grinning, “but maybe next time for the floor. Not tonight. I did laundry and everything, so I’m not letting the good sheets go to waste.”

“Who has ‘good sheets’?” Sokka asked, shaking his head.

“The guy who’s about to fuck you on them, dumbass,” Zuko replied, “so are you coming or not?”

He peeled them apart and shifted back to let Sokka sit up fully too, although it took him a second as his brain registered that last statement.

“Fuck’s sake, you’re gonna kill me," Sokka muttered, licking his bottom lip. "You gotta stop doing stuff with your fucking mouth for a little bit, because I need my brain to work.”

Zuko cocked an eyebrow at him, once again looking infuriatingly smug.

“Talking? Or like--” and he leaned in to drag his tongue just under Sokka’s ear again.

“ _Sex demon_ ,” Sokka hissed again, shoving him back as Zuko chuckled. “We still need to--we gotta have the conversations between here and the final phase of the joint Sokka-Zuko Seduction Plan. Protection and who’s going where and--” Sokka explained, gesturing between them and unsure at all if his point was coming across because his brain was still suffering from blood loss, “you know what I mean, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware of how male-male relationships work, thanks,” Zuko said, standing up and extending his hand back down. “So yes, we’ll have the conversation. Although, really, with you I’d be _much_ more worried if you started getting all quiet on me.”

"Oh, I won't be quiet, trust me," Sokka replied, basing that assessment just on the last few scorching minutes, and accepted the offered hand.

Zuko pulled him to standing, eyes heated, and Sokka let himself be led back toward the single bedroom, everything else abandoned in the now somewhat messy living room. His heart was beating a little hard, and everything seemed a bit overly-bright, but god did Zuko's hand feel good in his and the lure of that bare torso and tousled hair was damn near mesmerizing. And the glance Zuko shot him over his shoulder, molten and sweet in a way Sokka hadn't seen before, pushed away any concerns or insecurities that might have reared their ugly heads. Because it was Zuko, and it was him, and they worked together for some inexplicable reason that Sokka wasn’t about to poke at. 

He was just gonna let himself enjoy it.

They just made sure to shut the door behind them to keep out the dog and the cat, who promptly helped themselves to the rest of the pizza that had been left on the couch. On the other side of the door, Sokka and Zuko definitely didn't notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for everyone reading and commenting! It makes me so happy, it's ridiculous. :)
> 
> The chapter after this will be shorter, but it is a non-explicit description of what happens behind the closed door, so if that's not what you're here for, you can totally skip chapter 4 and come back for chapter 5, which returns to the fluff and banter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's running thought process behind that closed door.

The way they actually fell into bed together post-conversation, all mouths and hands and angled bodies, was like they'd always been doing this, like it was as natural as breathing. Apparently Sokka's yearning brain had been right about them as a matched set that first morning they'd woken up cuddling, the way their bodies just seemed to fit, but he wasn't thinking about that now, not really. For now he was only thinking in hazy, abstract feelings. Everything else had burned down to the concrete of that man in the bed with him: the column of throat under his lips, the breath in his ear, the fingers skimming down his bare chest, the slick skin under his hands, the vaguely salty taste of sweat and the purr of Zuko's rumbling voice reverberating through his ribs. He was aware of thighs and hands and weight and touch and every searing place Zuko kissed him, sliding down his body and over his skin and watching for affirmation as he worked off Sokka's clothes. He was aware of rolling them to return the favor and pin Zuko's body where he could skim his nails down his stomach and undo the bottom of his jeans and begin the process of getting them off too.

It was, at first, maybe a little frantic, as if they both somehow apparently thought there was a rush to get to bare skin. But once there, once naked and together, it all began to slow to a more luxurious rhythm, to a focus on exploring and savoring. It was wet kisses and questing hands and teasing touches and _time_. All the damn time in the world. Nowhere else to be except locked up against the other person and nothing else to do except make him gasp and moan and roll against you.

Zuko seemed, for once, to just be existing without self-flagellation and irritation, entirely in the moment, all dexterous hands and smart mouth and coiled energy, and Sokka was fucking drunk on it. Drunk on Zuko sucking at his lower lip and getting his hands around his waist and pulling their bodies close enough together that Sokka swore he could feel Zuko's heart pounding in his own chest.

And for Sokka's part, he just reveled in doing what he always wanted to do if given the opportunity:

He lavished. He adored. He _talked_.

And if some of it was goofy and light and fun, and Zuko laughed and shoved him and told him he was ridiculous, well, that was how it should be. And god, if Zuko also happened to make breathless, wordless sounds when Sokka murmured things like "babe" and "gorgeous" and "so fucking good" while he traced his way down his chest or licked across the line where thigh met torso and took Zuko in hand, well that was just another way they were compatible. And if Sokka was, at first, a little more careful with him than he might be with other people, if he pressed delicate kisses to the scar on Zuko's face and the other scatterings of marks on his body that Zuko had never explained, well, neither man seemed to be complaining. In fact, Zuko's response was electric as he dug in his nails and made muffled noises that sounded like prayers. Sokka smiled and found new ways to touch him, to coax out more sounds and more curse words and a more insistent hand fisted in his hair: the drag of his tongue between the arches of his ribs, rubbing circles into the silky dips under his hip bones, biting and kissing his way up his chest to murmur compliments into the underside of his jaw. And Zuko clung to him and returned ever kiss and touch with equal intensity and at one point caught Sokka's face in his hands for a moment just to stare at him as he pushed their hips together, his lips parted and his gold eyes burning like he'd easily take Sokka apart and make him beg for more. 

He would. He did. And Sokka didn't beg but it was damn close.

It hadn't been like this with other people; Sokka noted this somewhat distantly as their bodies slid together with a slow, aching care against the good sheets. The mechanics were the same, the body movements familiar, but there the comparisons ended because, fuck, somehow Zuko tasted like sunlight and knew exactly how to lock his hands around Sokka's hips, knew just the sorts of sounds to growl in his ear and how to roll their bodies together. It didn't make sense. It should have been awkward and fumbling like first times were, but even the slightly off moments seemed to work to just make them both laugh, to give them each a second to pause and rework and maybe just hold on a little tighter to the other. Sokka knew, even if he couldn't articulate it clearly, that Zuko was another being entirely. He hoped he told him, somehow, in the way he pressed against him, in the nonsense words he continued to murmur into his skin, even if he couldn't entirely understand it himself. Somewhere in a knot under the base of his sternum, he recognized that whatever was between them right now was something _new_. 

It was frightening and exhilarating and strange and great, and it wasn't just because Zuko was so stupidly, unfairly hot, or because he was all just perfect lean muscle and surprising strength in the way he met each movement, or because he continued to do decidedly wicked things with his mouth that had Sokka seeing stars. And it wasn't just because Sokka knew he was _also_ hot (so points for double hotness), and good at knowing just how to use and position his hands, and exquisitely patient when it actually mattered. It also wasn't _just_ because he was half-convinced he saw God for a second there when Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and groaned Sokka's name as he tipped over the edge, which immediately sent Sokka tumbling after him.

That was all just… nuance. Just mind-alteringly orgasmic nuance.

No, the real difference was something in the coming down afterwards, when they were tangled up with the blankets and each other, breathing hard and slick with sweat and both probably needing a shower or at least a decent-sized towel someone would have to go find. But even once everyone's heart rates lowered and skin began to cool again, neither was moving to untangle or find that needed towel. There was no slightly uncomfortable shuffle to separate or figure out what happened now or if they were supposed to leave at some point. No stilted conversation. No hunting down clothes. No checking phones or trying to navigate what the other person expected from them post-sex. 

Instead, everything was blurry and blissed out at the edges, and even post-orgasm, Sokka still just wanted to brush the sweaty hair from Zuko's forehead and kiss it. He still just wanted to hold him close and smell the always warm, masculine scent of him. So he did, and it was something in that moment of pulling him close and lingering with his lips against cooling skin just because he wanted to. It was something in Zuko smiling through that kiss and reaching out to curl his fingers around the edge of Sokka's jaw so he could brush a thumb along his cheekbone. It was the pinned together legs and the slight cramp in Sokka's hip that he was ignoring because he didn't want to move, and it was the lazy, slow blink of Zuko's eyes as he let out an exhale like he was releasing every moment of tension he'd ever carried around in his body. It was that Sokka had, in some vague way, prompted that level of satisfied sigh and that Zuko's once tidy and utilitarian room was now scattered with clothes and house keys and cell phones and a condom wrapper and lube bottle and the pillows that had been kicked on the floor. 

It was Zuko tracing the tip of a lazy finger up Sokka's cheek and then down his nose and watching him as he said, "You're staying here, right?"

It was Sokka mumbling back, "Where else would I possibly wanna be?" and meaning it completely without having to consider at all.

That was something new.

But really, where else could possibly be better than that bed at the moment as long as Zuko, all lax and toasty and affection, was still in it? What place, even with part of the sheet wrapped around his ankle and his hair sticking to his neck, could possibly compare to that man and that bed?

Fucking nowhere, Sokka decided, even as they had to separate briefly to clean up. He moved enough to stretch his hip and free his ankle and unstick his hair before he found his way to the bathroom, his legs like jelly. He cleaned up, barely aware of what he was doing, and then went back to the bedroom again. Zuko disappeared into the bathroom then, leaving Sokka to wrap a blanket around his shoulders, sit back on the bed, and wonder if that whole "seeing God when he orgasmed" thing meant he was religious now or just that Zuko was really _that_ good in bed. With no answer coming to his mind, he focused instead on watching Zuko return to the bedroom too, this time with a water bottle and Sokka's pillow that he'd left in the living room. That picture of Zuko, still naked and loose-limbed, being conscientious enough to get water and his pillow, was such equal parts sweet and functional that Sokka couldn't hold back his laugh. But he did accept the pillow and the water and the fingertips Zuko brushed through his hair as he passed, expression oddly fond as he looked down to meet Sokka's eyes. Then they were back in the jumble of blankets and body-warmed sheets and sleepy contentment, and Zuko was back against Sokka again where he was supposed to be.

They didn't talk. For once there wasn't anything that needed to be said.

But if Zuko sighed again and muttered something tender and only half comprehensible into Sokka's neck before they both fell asleep, well, that was definitely something too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again all for reading, kudos-ing, commenting, and being willing to chat with me about this story! You're all the best.
> 
> And remember to always communicate with your sexual partners, use protection, and let yourself be goofy and have fun. Just the opinion of one local fanfic writer who wants you all to be safe and happy :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after and a return to cuddles and banter and being really into each other.

When Sokka woke up the next morning, it was from a nest of coziness that had just continued the dumb, lingering bliss of last night. He stretched a little and noticed, somewhat distantly, that Zuko was already awake and Sokka was fully snuggled up against him. They'd inverted their roles from the first time they'd shared a bed: Sokka was now the one tucked under Zuko's arm and baby koala-ing around his torso, and Zuko was the one letting it happen while he browsed his phone. Except this time, they were actually in a relationship, and it was totally valid for them to be cuddling, and they were both still naked, which Sokka thought was a  _ vast _ improvement. He could very much get used to waking up like this, just, all the time. He pressed a kiss to the bit of Zuko's bare chest nearest his mouth and scooted even a little closer, happy to just wrap his legs around Zuko's and tuck his hand further into the crook of his waist.

"Good morning," Zuko said, voice extra gravely, and Sokka pulled back a little to look up at his face with a stupid amount of gooey affection, refusing to move from having his cheek pressed to bare skin.

"Now that's just unfair," Sokka grumbled pleasantly, scrutinizing him.

Zuko set his phone aside and repositioned his arm around Sokka's back. "What is?"

"That you can look  _ that _ good after waking up," Sokka said, staring at his handsome face and tousled bedhead. "I'm all drool and eye goop and sweaty hair, and you wake up looking like that fucking prince from  _ Mulan _ ."

Zuko grunted at that, grinning. He ran his fingers through Sokka's hair and replied, "I don't think he was a prince."

"That's what you're concerned with here?"

"And I'm not that built," Zuko finished, motioning to himself, to which Sokka just scoffed and nuzzled back into his chest.

Zuko continued carding through his hair, running the strands between his fingers and rubbing at the shaved sides, and Sokka sighed, arguably more content than he'd ever been in his life. He was warm, and Zuko's blankets were soft, and he was still a little post-sex dopey, and Zuko was all smooth body and soft skin, and also he was gently and steadily petting Sokka like he was a very lucky cat. 

Best way to wake up ever.

"How are you this morning?" Zuko asked, voice low, and Sokka smiled, his face still pressed into the other man's chest.

"I'm incredible," Sokka replied, looking back up at him. "Like… insanely so. How was last night even real?"

Zuko chuckled, cheeks a little red, and he scratched his nails softly into Sokka's scalp.

"Seriously," Sokka mumbled, stupidly happy and lackadaisical as he tucked his face back down, "I'm so good, and I'm just gonna live here now. You gotta quit your job. Being my pillow is your job now."

"Sure," Zuko murmured back, stroking through his hair again and making Sokka wish he could actually purr like a cat, "until you get hungry and dump your new pillow in favor of food."

"That's what Door Dash is for."

He could hear Zuko's smile even without seeing it. "Pretty sure they don't deliver directly to bedrooms."

"Bet they would if I gave them a big enough tip," Sokka argued, and then almost made an inappropriate joke involving "big" and "tips" but decided not to risk his blissful position by encouraging Zuko to shove him away in exasperation.

So they lay snuggled up in silence a little while longer, the room getting bright with sunlight and the distant sound of the pets coming through from the other room. Sokka adjusted to look at Zuko more easily, although he kept his chin propped on the other man's shoulder. He took a moment to just let his fingers drift over Zuko's chest, enjoying the contrast of them: his own light brown and square-ish hands against Zuko's pale olive chest, the bumps and marks of freckles and scars, the places their bodies seemed to naturally tuck together, all of it oddly soft and effortless.

God he was a damn sap today, but he really couldn't find it in himself to care. He was a dumb romantic, and he clearly wasn't getting any complaint from Zuko.

"How are  _ you _ this morning?" Sokka asked, looking back at Zuko's face.

"Really good," Zuko said immediately, smiling.

"So you liked the sleepover?" Sokka asked, eyebrows raised to match his grin.

Zuko chuckled. "I definitely liked the sleepover. Best I've ever been to.” He paused, cocking his head a little. “Hosted? Either way."

"Good," Sokka said, allowing himself a little more seriousness. "So last night, post-sleepover party part, that was all--?"

"Yes," Zuko replied. "Absolutely."

"You don't even know what I was gonna say."

"I don't care," Zuko said, grinning like the smug bastard he was. 

"Well, still, communication, ok? Specifically because," Sokka said, kissing his shoulder and prodding at a faint, purplish mark under Zuko's right collar bone he'd just noticed, "I must have done this, but I'm genuinely unsure if it's a bruise, bite mark, or hickey..."

"Yeah, it's unclear," Zuko agreed with no concern whatsoever.

"See, that seems bad."

"Disagree," Zuko murmured and then reached out to stroke Sokka's face. "Really, I would’ve told you if anything wasn’t ok last night."

"You promise?" Sokka asked, because for some reason he wasn't entirely convinced of Zuko's self-preservation instincts.

"My god you're considerate," Zuko muttered, sounding worryingly surprised. He bent to catch Sokka's chin and kissed him. "I promise, sweetheart, everything about last night was  _ great _ . You…" he slid the tip of his tongue along his lower lip as he drew back, "you were great."

Sokka smiled. "Sweetheart," he muttered, "look at you, all sappy." 

Zuko made a face at him but didn't take it back, which Sokka very much appreciated. 

"Oh and yes," Sokka added, "I  _ was _ pretty great." He reached over and patted Zuko's cheek, grinning. "But damn, so were you, babe." He ticked an eyebrow up. "Also, I'm flexible on pet names. Dear? Darling? Honey? Turtledove? You have a preference?"

Zuko chuckled, rolling so they were facing each other instead, which made Sokka grumble and find a pillow to cushion his head now. 

"Call me whatever you want in private," Zuko said and then added at Sokka’s excited face, “within  _ reason _ , fuck’s sake. But if you  _ ever _ call me something as stupid as 'turtledove' in front of people, I'll dump you in the river."

“What river?”

“I’ll find one.”

Sokka laughed. "You've got it, hot stuff," he said.

"You are a walking cock-block," Zuko groaned and tried to shove Sokka's face away.

"Now you know  _ that's  _ not true," Sokka replied laughing and reaching toward Zuko's hips again.

"Don't you dare!" Zuko replied, scooting away and shoving at Sokka's hands to keep them off him, which was a battle Sokka was pretty determined to win. Zuko laughed and grabbed his wrists. "I will tie you to this bed!"

Sokka paused, eyebrows raised.

"Don't threaten me with a good time," he muttered, and Zuko swiftly changed colors before dropping his head back into the pillow.

"Can't take you anywhere," he muttered, shaking his head, and Sokka laughed and hooked their legs together again.

Sokka allowed himself that moment to just appreciate Zuko and the way the sun from the window at Sokka's back turned his eyes fully gold and heightened the angles of his face, his dark lashes and the rippling contrast of the scar, the dip above his lips. Damn, how'd he manage to find a guy like this literally _downstairs_?

Zuko seemed to be watching him too, and he stroked a strand of hair away from Sokka's cheek.

"Is it weird if I wanna make you breakfast?" Zuko asked, smiling crookedly.

"It is  _ never _ weird for you to wanna feed me," Sokka replied instantly.

"Ok, good," Zuko said, "but I also only know how to make scrambled eggs, and I have a Keurig for coffee, but that's all the culinary breakfast skills I can offer."

"Sounds great," Sokka said and reached out to wrap an arm around his back, tugging him a bit closer. "But not yet."

Zuko chuckled. "Are you actually picking me over food?" 

Sokka grinned again. "Just this once," he said, "and hey, can I ask something that might be weird too?"

"Hmm?" Zuko replied, looking content. "Of course."

"Can we spend the day together? Just you and me, all day, doing whatever?" Sokka asked, feeling a bit clingy even as he said it, but he didn't take it back. 

They worked weird hours, and Zuko's job shifts were especially insane, and life forced them to schedule and stagger the time they had together, meaning the few weeks they’d been dating had been a lot of quick coffee breaks and late dinners and crashing out on couches. All of which was great, of course, especially when Sokka got to see Zuko in full EMT mode while he brought him drinks with frighteningly high levels of caffeine, or when Zuko showed up at his apartment post shift and just plopped down beside him and dropped his head into his lap without comment, expecting pets. It was all good, any time he got, but also Sokka wanted to be  _ selfish _ . He wanted to be needy and sappy and just follow Zuko around like a puppy all day if he'd let him.

Zuko's answered smile was far more affectionate than warranted, like Sokka had just given him some sort of gift rather than admitting that he was a stage five clinger.

"Yeah," Zuko replied, "I'd really like that. Whatever you want."

"You don't have any plans?" Sokka asked. 

"All I had strictly planned was to run to an ATM and then drop off my water bill," Zuko admitted, propping his head on his arm.

"Thrilling stuff," Sokka said and then smiled. "I'm in."

"Well, good," Zuko said, playing with a loose strand of Sokka’s hair. "So... take your dog out, eat breakfast, maybe wander that strip mall with the coffee place you like?"

"You mean the coffee place where I've made friends with all the workers and those same workers are scared of you because you always come in looking like a hungover goblin?" Sokka asked, grinning.

"Yeah, that one," Zuko replied, undeterred. "Scared or not, they don't judge me for putting six espresso shots in my latte, so I also consider them friends."

"God, just do cocaine at that point." 

"Yeah, no thanks," Zuko said casually. "So good coffee place and then what?  _ You're _ the planner, not me."

Sokka hummed to himself. "Then maybe your errands--I think I need to pay my water bill too, so that works-- then lunch somewhere, maybe take Boomerang to the dog park?" he suggested. "Then, what was your whole thing, share a milkshake like it's the 1950s?"

Zuko chuckled. "Yeah that."

"Do we have to drink the milkshake in front of angry white people for the full 1950s experience or is that part optional?"

"Definitely optional," Zuko replied, "although we've kind of started this whole thing by pissing off homophobes so…"

"So we'll add 'upsetting the heteronormative structure of the American Midwest' into the 'if the opportunity presents' column," Sokka said, and Zuko laughed in surprise.

"'The heteronormative structure of the American Midwest'?" Zuko repeated incredulously.

"If you think I didn't take a Queer Theory humanities class in college, you are sadly mistaken, my friend," Sokka said, pleased at the bafflement on Zuko’s face. "My first girlfriend drop-kicked the feminism right into me and then being bi really drove all that gender/sexuality stuff home." He stretched his back. "Let me know if you ever wanna argue about the inherent gender and sexuality bias built into the modern 40 hour work week."

Zuko laughed. "You are… never quite what I expect."

"Good," Sokka replied, smirking. "I'd hate to be getting boring already." He tousled Zuko's hair. "So then what?"

"I've lost track," Zuko admitted, "but it sounded like we had a busy day planned."

"Oh yes," Sokka said. "Definitely rigorously scheduled hangout time, no flexibility or fun allowed." He ran his hand up Zuko’s back as the other man shook his head, smiling. "But not yet."

And he pulled Zuko closer to him again and decided he was starting this action-packed day by remaining in this bed and within kissing distance of the man across from him for as long as physically possible.

Really, if given the choice, Sokka realized, he actually might never leave either bed or man again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it obvious I'm a big slut for morning cuddles with these two?
> 
> Also, Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka has officially taken over my working-from-home, can't-see-other-people existence, so I've already got more stuff written and in the works. If you're still interesting, I'm gonna have a few cute, silly little one-offs about the first few months of their relationship (did I write a story just to have Sokka say the line "Boomerang! You do always come back!"? Yes, I absolutely did) and then I've got a longer story I'm still working through/editing that will be more intense and angsty as it deals with Zuko's family and trauma and how that impacts Sokka and the relationship.
> 
> As always, thank you so incredibly much to all of you reading and liking and commenting. Being stuck at home has been pretty rough on my mental health, and having all of you to chat with has been a kind of life-saver. So thanks again and feel free to come chat with me more on tumblr if you want: onmyliteraturebullshitagain :)


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